Fling it in the Folder - Progress

My simple filing system has evolved and grown since I penned that original post four months ago. I have been adding lots of resources so it has changed. It is still a simple system with a flat structure, but will remain dynamic as my practices change and collection of resources grows.

I have renamed some folders, added a few more and appear to have lost one. Four months ago the folders on my external HDD looked like this:

May 20 2011

It now looks like this:

September 26, 2011

Where appropriate I have added subfolders to the folders listed above. The People and Places folders are where this was most needed.

Blog and website bits is a new folder in which I keep resources that I might use on my Geniaus blog or my websites. I made this folder after I changed the header image on my blog, wanted to reinstate it and couldn't find it.

GeniMates is a new folder where I keep resources for my GeniMates blog.

KHS is the new folder in which I keep information relating to my membership of the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society, It's where I file the society newsletters that arrive by email.

People replaces my old Names folder. I renamed this because it is about individuals.

Rootstech is where I file everything to do with this conference. There are two sub-folders 2011 and 2012. My photos and the syllabus from 2011 are in that folder. For 2012 there are my proposal submissions, proposal acceptances copies of the information I have sent to Rootstech relating to my Official Blogger role.

Scans to sort is a holding pen. It is the place where I keep scanned files until I have examined them and recorded details in my genealogy database. I then pop them in the folder that is the best fit for them.

Ships is a new folder. As all of our ancestors arrived in Australia by ship (there was no other way to get here) they play an important part in my family story. This folder has images of ships, copies of surgeons' journals from convict ships and recounts of voyages by my ancestors' fellow travellers.

Missing is my Research Log. I moved this from an Excel spreadsheet to a Google Doc Spreadsheet. Perhaps I should keep a copy on the Hard Drive.

At this point in time I am happy with the present iteration of Fling it in the Folder - My Digital Fling System. I wonder how my activities over the next few months will shape the next iteration.

2 comments:

This looks like a good system. I do something similar, but I recently started using Evernote to store copies of bits and pieces (especially Web pages) that I previously kept in folders. In Evernote I use a 'local' notebook for things I only need to keep for a while, and a 'sync' notebook for anything that I want backed up online. I had a few hassles with browsers' Web Clippers for Evernote, so I just select a section of the page, Control-C to copy, create a new note in Evernote, and Control-V to paste the selected section there. The URL of the page is automatically captured and added to the note. All I have to do is add tags. I really like it!